Apparatus for sampling or injecting fluids



Nov. 12, 1957 G. S. SCHONEWALD APPARATUS FOR SAMPLING` OR INJECTINGFLUIDS Filed July 20, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. l

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5o 2o /-/ZZ INVENTOR 2' George S. Schonewuld 66 1 I9 APPARATUS FORSAMPLING 0R INJECTING FLUIDS Filed July 20, 1955 Nov. l2, 1957 G. s.scHoNEwALD 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO George S. Schone d BE m ATORNEy Nov.12, 1957 G. s. scHoNx-:wALD 2,812,663

APPARATUS FOR SAMPLING OR INJECTING FLUIDS Filed July 2o, 1955 ssheets-sheet s INVENTOR George S. Schonewclld TTORNEYS United StatesPatent() APPARATUS FOR SAMPLING R INJECTING FLUIDS George S. Schonewald,Portland, Maine, assignor to Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company,West Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July20, 1955, Serial No. 523,166 7 Claims. (Cl. 73-425.4)

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for sampling liquids,vapors, gases and pulverized solids which behave as fluids, or forinjecting fluids into bodies of other fluids or into chambers `or tanks.

Yarious types of samplers or thief tubes are known for taking samples ofoil and other liquids. Conventional samplers are used in the oilindustry for taking samples from oil storage tanks, but such samplers,as far as known, do little more than take an average sample of the oilin the tank. Even though the sample is taken at a given level, it is notsealed-olf to prevent contamination.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a sampler which willtake and retain a reliable sample from any one or more specific levelsin a tank and retain such sample free of c-ontamination from the body oflluid in the tank at any other level.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved samplingapparatus which is automatic in operation and which is adapted todeliver a sealed sample from the desired location.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus which may beused either as `a sampler or as an injector adapted to deliver a fluidcharge into a body lof other fluid.

Another object of my invention is to provide an injector apparatus ofwide usage by which a particular chemical such as a dangerous chemicalor radioactive material may be delivered into the body ofanotherchemical.

An additional object of my invention is to provide an improved samplingapparatus which may be used to obtain a representative composite sampleof the average lluid contents of -a tank.

A further object of my invention is to provide improved apparatus forsampling the iluid contents of pipe lines` or for injecting fluids intopipe lines.

A further object of my invention is to provide an irnproved timingmeans, particularly for apparatus of Vthe type under consideration.

With these and otherrobjects in mind, my improved apparatus comprises acontainer for holding a sample of lluid as taken or a charge of fluid tobe injected, valve means for opening and closing said container, atiming means for controlling the opening and closing of the valve meansin `a predetermined sequence, `and an actuating means operativelyassociated with the timing means and the valve means for effecting theiroperation.

In an advantageous construction, the timing means comprises a powerspring and a release mechanism therefor the power spring being connectedboth to the timing means and the valve means for opening and closing thecontainer.

In accordance with the invention the improved timing means comprises yamember which isdriven by the power means against a confined body ofliquid in a chamber, the

member being arranged with respect to the chamber holdl ing the liquidin such a manner that the liquid restrains the movement of the member sothat it is allowed to move only at a certain preselected rate.

The improved lapparatus is adapted to operate in such, L

2,812,663 Patented Nov. 12, 1957 a manner as a sampler that, after thepower means has been cocked and released, it may be lowered to thedesired depth in a body of lluid with the sampler closed and thereinautomatically open the valve of the container after a given timeinterval, take a sample and reclose the valve to seal-in the sampleafter a given time interval so that the sample is not contaminated byother fluid when the apparatus is removed.

When the apparatus is operated as an injector, the container is filledwith the fluid rto be injected, the power means is cocked and the valveclosed to retain the iluid, after which the power means is released andthe apparatus lowered or delivered to the desired position, whereuponthe apparatus automatically opens the valve after a given time intervaland releases the lluid to be injected.

The invention includes other features, objects and advantages describedmore in detail hereinafter in connection` with an embodiment of theinvention shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisapplication.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through an apparatus embodying thefeatures of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view take on the line 4--4of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. l,showing details of the `timing mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. lshowing the structure at the inlet portion of the valve for thecontainer; p

Fig. 7 is a broken perspective view of a compartmented sample container;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view showing a modified form of containerfor the apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the improved apparatus comprises agenerally elongated cylindrical structure including a container 10 atthe lower end for receiving a sample of lluid or for holding a charge offluid to be injected. This container includes a cylindrical sheet metalwall 11 secured to upper land lower closure heads 12 and 13, includingportions extending into and secured to the wall 11 by means of screws14. The lower head carriesa groove receiving an O-ring gasket seal 15.The bottom head 13 is provided with an off-center round drain po-rt 16,which is manually closed and opened by `a rotary valve disc 17 carryinga sealing disc 18 fitting in a recess in the bottom of the head 13. Thediscs 17 and 18 are held firmly to the head 13 by a shaft 19 threadedinto ythe head 13 and extending axially through the sealing disc 18 anddisc 17 and carrying an adjusting nut 20 and a lock nut 21. The disc 17carries a drain connection 22 extending substantially through thesealing disc 18 and ad-apted to register with the drain `port 16 whenthe disc 17 is rotated to the correct position. The shaft 19 is lockedwith respect to the head 13 by means of a screw 23.

The head 12 may be regarded as a valve member as well as a part of thecontainer 10, It is provided with an olf-center circular valve inletport 24 and is threaded to the lower end of a rotatable shaft 25 andlocked thereto by a lock nut 26. The shaft 25 extends axially through axed assembly, including upper and lower cylindrical blocks or heads 27and 28 having portions fitting into and secured to the respective endsof a cylindrical casing 29 by means of screws 30. The casing 29,together with the end blocks 27 and 28, delines a chamber 31 filled witha timing liquid 32. This chamber also houses thel timing mechanism Iofthe apparatus. The head 12 is sealed with respect to the block 28 bymeans of a sealing` 3 shaft 2S is sealed with respect to the blocks 27and 28 by means of packing glands 34 and 35.

At the top of the apparatus the shaft 25 is threaded into a cocking disc36 or latch assembly fitting against thektop of the block 27 androtatable relative thereto, the`disc 36'bei`ng locked with respect to`the shaft 25 by means of a combination lock nut and knob 37'providedwith ahole 33 for receiving a chain of the type used for raising andlowering samplers.

The power means for rotating the Vshaft 25 and container with respect tothe fixed assembly comprises a fiat coil power spring 39 mounted in acompartment 40 in the underside of theblock 27. The inner end of thespring 39 is fixedl t-o the shaft 25 by means of a kscrew 41, whileV theouter end of the spring is provided with a loop in the usual mannerthrough which a pin or post 42, threaded in the block 27 extends. Thespring 39 is mounted in place under tension and the clockwise rotationof the disc 36 and shaft 25 serves to increase the tension of thespring, so that when released, it rotates the shaft 2S, the container10, the head 12 and the disc 36 in a counterclockwise direction.

The `disc 36 is provided with a latching and starting means including astarting button 44 and a compression spring 45 mounted in a radial borein the disc 36. The button 44, as shown, comprises an elongated pinhaving a wide annular recess engaged by a screw 46, which retains thebutton in place in the disc 36, limits its outward movement and at thesame time permits its movement into the bore against the action of thecompression spring 45. In Figs. l and 2, the latch assembly is shown inits cocked position with the starting button 44 against the edge of asloping stop plate 47 attached to the top of the block 27.

The lower portion of the block 28 includes a filling opening adapted toregister with the opening 24 when the container 10 is at a particularangular position with respect to the fixed assembly.- This opening, asshown in Figs. l and 6, comprises an arcuate slot 48 in the side of theblock 28 connecting with a circular opening 49 adapted to register withthe opening 24. The sealing disc 33 constitutes a seal for the valvemember 12. VThe sealing discs 1S and 33'are preferably made of plasticmaterial such as about 1/s Hycar. These discs are respectively held tothe members 17 and 12 by means of small screw studs 50, which arethreaded in place and the screw heads cut off, after which the sealingdiscs .are pressed onto the studs.

The .timing mechanism mounted in the chamber 31, as shown in Figs. l, 4and 5 comprises `a spool-shaped rotor, including a tubular section 51fitting around the shaft 25 and carrying integral end discs 52, thetubular section and end discs being slotted with radially-extendingslots in which are fitted a rotor blade 53 extending to the periphery ofthe discs 52. The tubular section 51 of the rotor includes verticalslots 54 receiving screw studs 55 threaded into the shaft 25 formounting the spool-shaped rotor on the shaft, The slots 54 areprovidedto permit vertical. adjustment of the rotor between the blocks27 and 28. The rotor blade S3 cooperates withfa wedge-shaped segment 56fixed to the casing 29 by means of screws 57 and fitting the innersurfaces of the tubular section 51 and discs 52 of the rotor. Thesegment 56, as shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, is approximately a 45 segmentof a cylindrical block having an inner arcuate surface fitting theexterior surface of the tubular section 51 and an outer arcuate surfacefitting and sealed to the interior of the casing 29. Since the segment56 is fixed with respect to the fixed upper assembly and the rotor isrotatable with the shaft 25, the clearances between the segment and theelements of the rotor are as small as possible, while permittingrelatively free rotation of the rotor with respect to the wedge-shapedsegment.

The liquid 32, such as a lubricating oil, filling the chamber 31 and thecompartment 40 and completely surrounding the rotor and the spring 39may be introduced through a filling opening 5S extending through thecasing 29 and into the segment 56 and connecting with a lateralpassageway S9. The opening 58 is closed by means of a screw plug 60. Theclockwise end of the passageway 59 is covered by a exible metal leafspring 61 mounted in a groove on the clockwise radial face and attachedat its upper end to the wedge-shaped segment.

The wedge-shaped segment 56, as shown in Fig. 4, includes a second-passageway 62 opening through its radial surfaces. The liow of timingoil through this passageway-is controlled byla needle valve 63 or setscrew accessible through an opening in the casing 29. The set screw orneedle valve 63 may be locked in place by a lock nut 64.

The chamber 31 is completely tilled, preferably with a minerallubricating oil having the desired viscosity characteristics by pouringthe oil in through the opening 58. Oil may also be introduced, to insurefilling of the compartment 40, through an opening 64 in the block 27provided with a screw plug 65. Since the rotor operates inside thecasing'29 with suflicient clearance to permit rotation, it will be seenthat oil completely surroundsthe rotor as well as the spring 39.

The elements of the apparatus shown in Figs. l to 6 of the drawings maybe readily assembled in the following manner.

1) Fasten the power spring 39 to the shaft 2S and insert the upper endof the shaft into the block 27 and loop the free end of the power springover the mounting post 42.

(2) Insert the lower end of the shaft 25 through the tubular member 51of the rotor and secure the screws 55.

(3) Insert the wedge assembly 56 into the rot-or between the end discsS2 and slide the tubing or casing 29 over the rotor and wedge and attachthe wedge to the casing by securing the screws 57.

(4) Slide the lower block 28 over the lower end of the shaft, apply asmall amount of sealing compound to the block 28 and secure the casing29 to this block by inserting the screws 30.

(5) Wind the power spring by rotating the container 10 clockwiserelative to the block 27.` In this operation the wedge will engage theblade 53 so that the rotor and shaft will be turned. When the powerspring is wound sufficiently, secure the casing 29 to the block 27 bymeans of the screws 30. The rotor blade S3 will now be against theclockwise face of the wedge or in its final operative position.

(6) Insert thepacking glands 34 and 3S and screw the latch assembly disc36 onto the shaft 2S until the shaft extends above the disc 36 about li(7) Insert the valve disc or head 12 with the gasket 33 over the lowerend of the shaft 25 and thread it on until the sealing disc is snugagainst the block 28 and until the opening 24 is about 10 past orcounterclockwise of the opening 49. Lock the head 12 to shaft 25 in thisposition using lock nut 26.

(8) Assemble the elements 13 and 17 and attach the casing 11 to the head13 using a small amount of sealing compound in the joint.

(9) Fasten the container casing 11 to the head or valve disc 12 againusing sealing compound in the joint.

(10) Using the oil fill holes 58 and 64, fill the rotor housing chamber31 and the compartment 40 with a suitable oil, apply a small amount ofsealing compound to the plugs and close the openings 58 and 64.

(1l) Adjust the timing to a cycle of approximately 2 minutes 10 seconds.This .may be done by screwing the latch assemblyy disc 36 down againstthe block 27 until the pressure of thevalve sealing disc 33 against theblock 28 is suicient to provide an opera-ting -fricti'on which will givethe correct time cycle. However, it is preferable to adjust the pressureon the sealing disc 33 to give an adequate seal and then lock the shaft25 with respect to the disc 36 by means of the lock nut knob 37. Thetiming cycle is then adjusted by controlling the flow of lubricating oilthrough the passageway 62 in the wedge 56, since when the latch assemblydisc 36 is rotated to a cocked position with the rotor blade 53 on thecounterclockwise face of the wedge 56, oil in front of the blade isforced to flow around the wedge 56 and through the passageway 62. Theadjustment of yflow through the passageway 62 will give the correcttiming for the movement of the rotor blade around to the clockwise faceofthe wedge 56. During the cooking of the operating mechanism, the oilin front of the blade as it is rotated clockwise flows freely throughthe passageway 59 and opens the flap valve 61.

(12) When the timing has been adjusted, locate the latch stop 47 so asto hold the latch assembly in the cocked position and fasten the stop tothe block 27 in this position against the release button 44, by means ofthe screws shown in Fig. 2.

When the apparatus shown in Figs. l to 6 and described above is operatedfor taking a sample, for example, of oil in an oil tank, the apparatusis carried on a chain by which it is lowered to the bottom or someselected level in the tank. To begin with, the apparatus is cocked byrotating the latch assembly disc 36 clockwise with respect to the bodyof the apparatus until the button 44 clicks behind the stop 47.Thereafter, the button is released and the apparatus lowered to theselected level within a period of one minute where it is allowed to stayuntil two minutes plus a few seconds have elapsed after pressing thestarting button. The sample is now in the container and sealed 0H. Theapparatus is now pulled up and the valve disc 17 rotated until theoutlet 22 is in register with the port 16. The drainage of the samplefrom the container may be speeded by cooking the device so as to bringthe ports 24 and 49 in register.

The apparatus shown in Fig. l of the drawings is normally provided withthree legs 66 projecting below the bottom of the outlet tube 22 andabout an inch in length. These legs are spaced uniformly around theperiphery of the disc 17 and threaded thereto. The legs provide a standfor the apparatus when it is lowered into a tank and are used when asample taken about one foot above the bottom of the tank issatisfactory. However, when it is desired to take a sample close to thebottom of the tank, a leg located on the side of inlet port 24 isremoved and a two inch leg screwed in its place. Now when the apparatusis lowered to the bottom of the tank, the two inch leg will tip theapparatus over on its side so that the inlet 48 is closer to the bottomof the tank, that is, when the port 49 is brought into register with theport 24. The long leg must and can be placed under port 24 by rotatingdisc 17 so that the port 49 will be on top when the sampler is on itsside to permit the chamber to lill when port 49 is uncovered.

The container 10 shown in Fig. l of the drawings may be compartmented inthe manner shown in Fig. 7 to provide two or more compartments fortaking samples in one operation at different levels in a tank, forobtaining a number of samples from various incremental depths from thebottom to the top of the tank, which samples may be blended to obtain arepresentative average sample of the contents of the tank, or for takingsamples at different periods of time from a pipeline. In accordance withthe showing in Fig. 7, the container 10 having a shell or casing ll isdivided into a plurality of vertical compartments 69 by means ofradially-extending partitions 70 all sealed with respect to each otherand to the inside of the casing. The structure of the container 10 issimilar to that shown in Fig. l, but the head or valve disc 12 isprovided with inlet ports 71, 72, 73 and 74, respectively for the fourcompartments 69. In other respects the shell or casing 11 will beattached to the disc 12' in the manner shown in Fig. 1, except that theupper ends of the partition walls 6 70 will be sealed with respect tothedisc 12 so that each sample will be uncontaminated by any other sample.

When the container 10 is used in place of the container 10, however, theshaft 25 may be atttached to the disc 12 in the same manner as that usedfor the shaft 19 with respect to the head 13. However, after the disc 12has been threaded onto the shaft 25, the projecting end of the shaft maybe threaded into the axial threaded opening until the partitions 70 `arebrought up into sealing engagement with the bottom of the `disc 12 andoriented properly with respect to the ports 71 to 74. The shell orcasing 11 is then 'fastened to the disc 12.

In the operation of the apparatus provided with the compartmentedcontainer shown in Fig. 7, the timing is set so that the compartmentsare filled in succession at sufficient time intervals to permit movementof the apparatus to a new level or position between compartment filling.After the samples have been taken, they may be removed-into separatecontainers by simply rotating the valve disc 17, so thatthe outlet 22 issuccessively brought into register with the outlet ports for therespective compartments.

A sampler employing the compartmented container shown in Fig. 7 may beused to obtain a representative average sample of the fluid contents ofa tank. To accomplish this, the sampler, containing a suitable number ofcompartments, is lowered to the bottom of a tank during the time periodelapsing before port 49 comes into register with the first inlet port71. When a time period equal to the time required for port 49 to beginto uncover the first inlet port 71 expires, the operator slowly raisesthe sampler from the bottom to the top of the tank either in stagescorresponding to incremental fluid depths and the time required touncover and seal individual compartments or at a slow constant rate, ineither case such that not all compartments have been filled when thesampler is withdrawn from the fluid. Fluid is withdrawn from theindividual compartments into a common container by slowly rotating valvedisc 17 to obtain the sample representing the average tank contents. Bythe above operation, equal incremental quantities of fluid are sampledfrom each fluid level within the tank regardless of fluid depth andresulting fluid pressure, whereas if an open, one-compartment vesselwere raised from the bottom to the top of a fluid column at a constantrate, greater quantities of fluid would be obtained from the lowerlevels of the fluid mass where pressures are greater than from the upperlevels where pressures are less.

Although it is assumed that a compartmented sampler willfbe movedstraight up in obtaining the average sample of a tank, the sampler may,of course, be moved about at random within a tank by a suitable rigidattachment, for example, to the outside of the fluid mass so as to takea cross-section of the fluid contents of a tank in any pattern.

When used as an injector, the compartmented apparatus may be used toinject fluid -into the body of another fluid in any pattern so as toobtain equal dispersion of the one fluid into the body of the otherfluid.

When the container shown in Fig. 7 is used for injecting a plurality ofdifferent fluids into a body of another fluid, the port 49 is broughtinto register in succession with the ports 71 to 74, so that thedifferent fluids to be injected are expelled in succession. Any fluid tobe injected into another fluid may be charged into the container or thecompartments of the container as a mixture containing 4an aerosolmedium, such as one or more of the Freons which are normally gaseousmaterials liquifiable at low temperatures. lf desired, the apparatus maybe cocked and charges of cold liquified aerosol mixtures introducedthrough the pipe 22 as the valve disc 17 is rotated to the outlet portsof the respective compartments 69.

Liquids may also be injected by only partially filling each segmentalcompartment with the liquid to be injected and by filling the balance ofthe compartment with an inert gas under pressure by means of a valvelike an 7 automobile tire valve beside pipe 22, which pipe 22 would beequipped with a shut-off valve. This arrangement would require that theinjector be inverted so that the material to be injected would be nextto the injection ports 49 and 48 with the pressurized inert gas above.

Injection of liquids may also be accomplished by loading the segmentalchambers against a spring loaded piston, which piston will expand toinject liquid when the respective port is opened. Injection of gases maybe accomplished by merely pressuring each segmental chamber with the gasto be injected. The ejection port can be made as a restricting orificeso that the sample container will be emptied gradually over anopen-valve time interval. Thus the injection can be dispersed throughthe surrounding medium by moving the sampler about in the medium duringthe open-valve time interval.

It is to be understood that the ports 48, 49 and 22 may be provided withthreaded or other type connections for coupling the apparatus to otherequipment for special purposes. For example, a threaded connection 'forthe port 49 is advantageous when the apparatus is used for takingsamples from an oil or gas pipeline. When the apparatus is connected upas a pipeline sampler, it may be used and timed to collect a continuousor composite sample or timed and arranged to collect a plurality ofsamples at spaced intervals of time.

When the apparatus is used for sampling gas, the container or containersmay be evacuated before they are connected up to a gas line or tank orbefore the apparatus is lowered or otherwise moved into a container orreservoir of gas.

Fig. 8 shows a modified form of container for use with the apparatus,particularly as a continuous or averaging sampler. In this view thecontainer 10 includes a simple shell 11 provided with aninwardly-extending threaded bottom ring 77 fixed to the shell. The upperend of the shell 11 is secured the same as in Fig. l to a disc 12 whichis threaded onto the shaft and locked thereto as by a locking means,such as 23 shown in Fig. l. In this instance, the shaft does not extendthrough the disc. This is to permit the plain upper surface of a piston78, provided with gasket discs, to be pressed up closely against theunder surface of the disc 12". A piston rod 79 is attached to the piston78 and in commencing a timing and sampling operation, where theapparatus described in Fig. l includes the chamber of Fig. 8, the piston78 is against the valve disc 12 and held there because of the seal whenthe port 24" is closed off.

in order to further maintain the seal of the pistons 78, the bottom ofthe chamber l0 is 'equipped with a bottom assembly block 86 providedwith an axial bore 8l, through which the piston rod '79 moves freely.The bottom block 8f@ is threaded onto the ring 77 and is provided withone or more vent holes 32 for the escape of air as the piston l' movesdown in the chamber 10". The bottom block Sii is also provided with alatch mechanism including a radially-extending slotted latch pin @3,biased toward the piston rod 79 by a spring 84. When the piston 78 isagainst the disc l2, the inner end of the latch pin S3 engages in aperipheral slot S5 in the piston rod 79. A trigger rod @6 extendsupwardly through a slot 87 in the block 8l) and is held in the block bymeans of a projecting shoulder 83. The trigger 86 includes a slopingsurface 89 engaging in the vertical slot in the pin 83 so that upwardmovement of the trigger rod Sie moves the pin 83 out of engagement withthe piston rod 79, thereby releasing the piston 78 so that it may movedownwardly in the chamber iii.

When the sampler, including the chamber lfb, is used for taking anaveraging sample in an oil tank, for example, the apparatus is cocked inthe usual manner and lowered to the bottom of the tank. When the rod S6strikes the tank bottom, it releases the piston rod, but the pistonremains against the valve disc i2 held by the vacuum between'the valvedisc and the piston. After a time interval has elapsed, sufficient toopen the port 24" to the 'port 49, the operator commences to raise thesamplerat a uniform rate and the weight of the piston 78 and piston rod79 draws in the sample as the apparatus is raised through the body ofoil. The stop 47 must be located to stop the valve travel in the fullyopen position for average sampling but preferably a second removablestop is provided. By raising the sampler at a uniform rate such that itis not quite full when removed from the liquid, an average sample of theliquid is obtained. Because liquid pressure is the same on either sideof the piston, the piston will fall at a uniform rate taking in thesample at a uniform rate, regardless of the surrounding pressure whichis proportional to the depth cf 'the sampler in the liquid.

Since the chamber 10 of the averaging sampler is relatively large andinitially iilled with air, the sampler wiil doubtless reverse itself toan upside-down position as soon as it is lowered into the liquid.However, the vent opening 82 is relatively large, and preferably twoventsare provided so that the air is quickly replaced with liquid. Assoon as this happens, the sampler rights itself in the liquid so thatthe trigger rod 36 will strike the bottom of the tank and release thepiston 7S. The oil or other liquid beneath the piston will ow outgradually through the vent 82 as the sampler is raised through the bodyof liquid in the tank. lf desired, the vent or vents 32 may be arrangedto control the rate of escape of liquid below the piston through thevent or vents 82, to in turn control the rate at which the averagesample is collected through the port 24".

The container shown in Fig. 8 may be used for injecting Vone fluid intoanother. For example assuming that the piston 78 is pulled down to thering 77 and the container filled with a iluid to be injected, theapparatus is then cocked, released and lowered to the bottom of a tankwith the piston rod 79 resting on the bottom of the tank. Now as soon asthe port 24 is brought into register with the port 49, the weight of theapparatus will force the piston 7S up into the container and dischargeits contents through the ports 24 and 49.

, luid may oe injected, or ejected from the apparatus by using a simpletype of container provided with a spring-biased plunger or piston. Forexample, the container may be like that shown in Fig. 8 where a coilspring is provided between the ring 77 and the underside of the piston78. in such a construction the piston 78 is drawn down against the biasof the spring, filled with iiuid through the port 24 and then sealed offby cooking ready for injection into another fluid.

The timing mechanism which controls the time interval between valveopening and closing and the resultant number of sampling or injectingoperations per unit of time may be made a function of some externalvariable factor. As an example, the rate of sampling or injecting of amultiple sampler or injector may be-made to vary with pressure or liquiddepth by providing a diaphragm linkedto the flow control means 63forcing part 63 in or out to regulate the flow of lubricating oilthrough passageway 62 to cause the rate of valve opening and closing vtoincrease or decrease in proportion to uid pressure or depth.

As a second example, the rate of sampling or injecting of a multiplesampler or injector which is attached u to a pipeline to sample from orinject into the pipeline may be made to vary directly as the ow of fluidthrough the pipeline by linking a liow indicating mechanism, such as apropeller within the pipeline, or an orifice plate pressure dilferentialto the ilcw control means 63 to control the flow of lubricating oilthrough passageway 6?. to in turn regulate the rate of valve opening andclosing and resultant sampling or injecting rate in proportion to flowrate through the pipeline. The above ow indicating mechanism could alsobe made to vary the turning speed of other types of power drives, suchas electric motor drives when such drives are used to operate the valvemechanism. As illustrated by this second example, a pipeline could besampled from or injected into as a function of flow, for instance totake a sample for each 100 gallons, rather than as a function of time,where a sample is taken each ten minutes, for instance.

The sampler shown in the drawings may be made to any desired dimensionsbut a convenient size is approximately 181/2" high overall and about 2%in diameter. The container is 2% in outside diameter and its shell is11%" high so that it will hold a considerable quantity of material,approximately l quart, as a single container and provide adequatesamples when divided into four compartments, for example.

While a simple and effective power means has been described andillustrated in connection with the invention, and is preferred, it is tobe understood that the power' for operating the opening and closing ofthe sample container ports may be provided by electric motor means,magnetic or electromagnetic means or by pneumatic or hydraulic fluidpressure mechanisms. Furthermore, any of these power means may bearranged to operate with single or multiple chambers and to operatevarious types of valve arrangements, such as trigger valves, rotatingplug cocks, gear or cam-actuated valves or cable-actuated valves.

The sampler of the present invention has many advantages not found inany known type of sampler. It can be operated manually or `by means of'a winch as when lowered through a vapor conservation gauging hatch. Onthe other hand, conventional samplers, some ofwhich are provided with acork to be pulled out, must be lowered manually and jerked to loosen thecork in order to permit the sampler to lill. Furthermore, the sampler ofthe present invention permits the location of sample levels and thetaking of samples precisely and conveniently, and the removal of thesesamples without contamination with liquid in any other portion in thetank. In the operation of the sampler, the sample is sealed in at thepressure of the sample level. There is, therefore, no loss of volatilematerial. This feature is particularly advantageous in sampling moderngasolines or other liquids which contain volatile additives.

The improved sampler is easy to operate and there is no danger ofopening it prematurely or of breaking the sample chain, since no jerkingof the sampler is required to effect its operation.

While a specific construction has been described in considerable detail,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, exceptas provided in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. An apparatus of the type described, comprising a fluid-tightcylindrical container for holding uid, the t-op of said container beingprovlded with an off-center port for the flow of fiuid, a valve membermounted on the upper end of said container in sealing relation theretoand adapted to seal olf said port, said valve member including anoff-center port adapted to register with the port in the top of thecontainer when the valve member and container are rotated relative toeach other to a predetermined position, power means operatively con- 10valve member for controlling the lapse of time between the starting ofthe power means and the uncovering of the port in the top of thecontainer.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the container includes aplurality of compartments and the top of the container includes anoff-center port for and communicating with each compartment.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim l, including a shaft fixed axiallyto the top of the container and extending rotatably through said valvemember, said power and timing means being operatively connected to saidshaft and to said valve member.

4. An apparatus as claimed n claim 1, including a shaft fixed axially tothe top of the container and extending rotatably through said valvemember, said power means and said timing mechanism being operativelyconnected to said shaft and to said valve member, said timing meansincluding a chamber surrounding said shaft above said valve member, ahydraulic liquid filling said chamber, and means carried by the shaftmovable thereby through the liquid in the chamber.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, including a dam in said chamberfixed with respect to the side wall thereof and the valve member andextending toward the shaft, whereby a` resistance is presented to therotation of the shaft.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, including a passageway connectingthe opposite sides of the dam in said chamber for the ow of hydraulicliquid, and means for adjusting the rate of W of hydraulic liquidthrough said passageway.

7. An apparatus of the type described, comprising a Huid-tightcylindrical container for holding fiuid, the top ofv said containerbeing provided with an olf-center port for the flow of fiuid, a valvemember mounted on the upper end of said container in sealing relationthereto and adapted to seal off said port, a shaft fixed axially to thetop of the container and extending rotatably through the valve member,said valve member including an off-center port adapted to register withthe port in the top of the container when the valve member and containerare rotated relative to each other to a predetermined position, powermeans operatively connected with the shaft and valve member foretfecting the relative rotation between the container and valve member,said power means being adapted to rotate the valve member and containerrelative to each other to cause said ports to move into register andthen to move out of register, a timing mechanism operatively connectedwith the shaft and valve member for controlling the lapse of timebetween the starting yof the power means and the uncovering of the portin the top of the container, the timing mechanism comprising acylindrical chamber surrounding said shaft, a rotor in said chamberrotatably fixed with respect to said shaft and including upper and lowerdiscs, a radially-extending vane connecting said discs, a dam carried bysaid chamber and extending between said discs in overlappingrelationship with respect to said vane, and a liquid filling saidchamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,101,568 Roberts Iune 30, 1914 1,950,854 Lerch Mar. 13, 1934 2,137,128Blake Nov. 15, 1938 2,147,983 Lindsly Feb. 21, 1939 2,314,372 SplihausMar. 23, 1943 2,640,542 Brown June 2, 1953

